oe salt lake city



Jan. 9,1923. 1,441,751.

v E. ROBERTS.

CENTRIFUGAL MACHINE.

FILED 0C1. 2. 1919.

772 a, l i

12 C 7 9 7/ 7Zve7z J Patented Jan. 9, 1923.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EUGENE ROBERTS, OF SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, ASSIGNOR TO THE WESTERN STATES MACHINE COMPANY, OF SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, A CORPORATION OF UTAH.

CENTRIFUGAL IMACHINE.

Application filed October 2, 1919. Serial No. 327,940.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, EUGENE ROBERTS, a

citizen of the United States, and residentof Salt Lake City, in the county of Salt Lake and State of Utah, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Centrifugal Machines, of which the following is a specification. V

This invention relates to centrifugal machines and is intended to provide a simple and convenient means for separating the discharge of green or raw juice from the wash syrups that are extracted from the sugar at different stages in the treatment of the sugar in the centrifugal.

As is well understood by those skilled in the art after the centrifugal basket is charged with a load of sugar the machine is started and the raw or green juice extracted from the sugar by centrifugal force the juice escaping through the perforations in the basket and flowing into the bottom of the curb or casing thence out through a discharge pipe. Subsequently, in order to further purify the sugar the sugar is. washed while the basket is rotating by a-spray of water.

Now it is highly advantageous to separate these two different discharges or runs of liquid extracted from the sugar and this invention solves this problem by providing deflecting means disposed inside of the peripheral wall of the curb or casing at a distance therefrom which when in operative position deflect the centrifugally extracted liquid into one off-take passage, and which when moved are shifted to inoperative position allow the centrifugally extracted liquid to flow away through another off-take passage whereby the liquid extracted in the two runs are kept entirely separate.

The invention consists primarily in the combination with a centrifugal basket of any suitable type with a surrounding curb or casing provided with movable deflecting means which are shiftable to deflect the extracted liquid into an inner passage and which in another position of adjustment allow the extracted juice to escape into an outer passage. This and other features of the invention will be more particularly explained in this specification and in the claims hereto annexed.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated a preferred form embodying the principles of this invention in which;

Figure 1 is an elevation in central section showing a centrifugal basket and its surrounding curb equipped with a shiftable deflecting means;

Figure 2 is a plan view taken at different sectional elevations indicated by the sectional lines a=-m on Figure 1;

l igure '3 is a detail plan view of one of the shutters or blades forming a part of the deflecting means.

In the practice of the invention according to the form illustrated in the drawings any suitable type of perforated centrifugal basket a carried by a central rotary shaft a to which it is fastened by means of the usual In this case the trough b is provided in-- termediate of its outer and inner flanges with a flange or partition 6* which divides the trough into outer and inner compart ments or passages. The inner passage dis charges into an off-take pipe 0 and the'outer passage into an off-take pipe m leading to different receptacles.

Above the partition 6 is located the defleeting means which in this case comprise a series of blades or shutters c provided at their lower ends with pivotal journals 0 resting in sockets in the top of the partition flange b and at their upper ends with pivotal journals 0 seated in bearing openings formed in a ring 0 attached to or forming part of the top rim of the casing.

These shutters are arranged in a circumferential series with the blade of one shutter overlapping the adjacent end of the next one when the shutters are enclosed or in circumferential position for deflecting or arresting the outward movement of the extracted juice. To make the joints tight the thickened end of each blade is cut away to form a shoulder 0* so arranged as to receive the tree or projecting end blade as shown in Figure 2.

In the form shown in the drawings the deflecting means are shifted to inoperative position by moving the individual shutters from circumferential to radial position .thereby leaving a wide space between the adjacent shutters to permit the discharge of juice outward against the outside wall of rasing Y).

F or effecting this shifting movement any suitable mechanism may be employed. In this case I have shown a series of gears or pinions secured to the upper ends a of the blades or shutters c and a sprocket chain cl encircling these series pinions c in engagement thermvith so that the circumferential movement or the sprocket chain in e ther direction will correspondingly rotate the pinions and their connected shutters. For convenience in operating and maintainingthe shutters in either position of adjustment I provide an arm or lever 6 whose upper end 6 is provided with a weight 6". Said lever is mounted on a horizontal shaft to which is attached a bevel gear 6 meshing with its companion bevel gear 6 on a shaft 6 which forms an upward extension of one of the shutters c.

It will be seen that it this weight arm is thrown to one side it acts through the me dium of the bevel gears and the shalt e and sprocket chain (Z to shift the whole series of shutters collectively or similtaneously into circumferential or closed position. The shifting of the weight arm in the opposite direction acts similarly to shift the shutters into radial or open position in which position the centrit'ugally moving juice passes between the shutters into the outer compartment and then through the eff-take passage m.

in order to prevent the swinging or gyrating basket from impinging against the shutters and causing damage I provide secured to the bottom of the basket a peripheral ring a which by striking against the partition Zr or the inner flange b as the case may be limits the gyration or the hasket and prevents it from striking against the juice deflecting means.

The essential feature of the invention consists in juice deflecting means arranged to deflect the centrifugally extracted juice to ferentially arranged shutters and pinions secured to the upper ends of said shutters, a sprocket chain encircling the series of pinions, weight arm operatively connected with said sprocket chain to shift the same in either direction to open and close said shutters and to maintain them in shifted position, substantially as described.

In a centrifugal machine the combination oi a gyratory centrifugal basket,asurrounding casing provided with a juice collecting ring at its bottom peripheral portion said ring having an intermediate partition dividing it into outer and inner passages, movable juice deflecting means mounted between the periphery of the basket and the periphery oi the casing, means for shifting said deflecting means to direct the juice into either of said passages at will, and

buffer ring secured to the basket in position to impinge against said collecting ring, substantially as described.

3. In a juice collecting apparatus for a centrifugal machine, the combination of a cylindrical casing having a juice collecting bottom and a vertical annular partition subdi *iding said bottom into outer and inner collecting rings, a series of shutters journaled above said partition to form a vertical annular extension of said partition when set in overlapped circumferential position, and to provide, when shifted to radial positions, interstitial spaces for the escape of liquid thrown from the centrifugal the upper journal of one shutter being extended upward, an actuating member having operative connection with said journal and means for operatively communicating the rotative movement of said journal to the corresponding journals of the other shutters, substantially as described.

In witness whereof, I have subscribed the above specification.

EUGENE ROBERTS. 

